Shocking the Nine Heavens With My Sword-Chapter 609 - 586: The Second Gorge (2/3)

The Unicorn Moonlight Emperor truly couldn’t fathom it; each power was granted no more than three spots, yet their number amounted to over a dozen people, and among them, there was only one man. This hardly seemed like a venture into danger, but rather, like a jaunt in the countryside!

Look, they even brought their beast pets along!

What kind of force could so extravagantly take up the spots meant for other families? Should Juexian City learn of this, it would surely spell disaster!

This was an outright provocation!

So brazen and unconcerned, could these people possibly be from Juexian City itself? If they hailed from the prominent houses of Juexian City, then naturally, they could easily settle this matter— who would dare to provoke the might of Juexian City’s noble families?

Although he was exceedingly arrogant, convinced that no one of his generation could compete with him, he wasn’t so vain as to think he was invincible. He absolutely wouldn’t provoke the powers of Juexian City!

Not to mention Juexian City—even the families from the Sublimation Realm were not ones he could provoke!

His name was Zi Yingming, belonging to the Zi Family from Xiwu City. His family had powerhouses like the Sunshine Emperor! The Sunshine Emperor in Xihai City might indeed crush the spirit of every individual, but compared to Juexian City, that amounted to nothing at all!

Zi Yingming’s name bore the characters for ’brilliant and wise’, and he indeed wasn’t foolish.

"I am Zi Yingming. May I inquire as to how I should address you?" he said with a slight smile, greeting Zhou Heng with a clasped fist.

This was a standard act of initial arrogance followed by deference!

No wonder Zi Yingming behaved this way; the Immortal Realm was a world where power was respected. Would the lofty Moonlight Emperor ever sit and chat idly with a Minor Warrior of the Divine Infant Realm? Zhou Heng had demonstrated his strength, and so Zi Yingming’s change of attitude was understandable.

After a brief contemplation, Zhou Heng decided to let the matter rest.

He had no particular enmity with Zi Yingming, and vying for the Order here was quite normal. What irked Zhou Heng was Zi Yingming’s initial demeanor.

Now that the other party had lowered his stance so much, Zhou Heng naturally let go of his anger.

Besides, now was not the time for a show of boldness and ferocity; the Moonlight Lotus was the primary goal! The other party was a Four Wheels Moonlight Emperor, possessing strength comparable to his, even slightly superior—a formidable opponent indeed.

"I am Zhou Heng, and I’ve seen Brother Zi!" Zhou Heng also greeted him with a clasped fist, all smiles.

"Could it be the recent Three Stars Pharmacist from Wild Horse City?" Zi Yingming expressed surprise.

"Indeed, it’s me!" Zhou Heng smiled again.

"So it’s Brother Zhou!" Zi Yingming suddenly laughed, "After hearing about Brother Zhou, I wanted to come over and have a chat right away, but with the Starwind Trial looming, I had to attend to it here first. I thought to seek Brother Zhou out after the trial, but who would have thought I’d meet Brother Zhou here—such a coincidence!"

His words were actually sincere. Xiwu City housed a Four Stars Pharmacist, but they were distressingly rare, and Diamond City, where the Zi Family located, had no more than four. Although one Four Stars Pharmacist was recruited by the Zi Family, it was after all only one. Could it satisfy the pill needs of nearly ten thousand members of the Zi Family?

Four Stars Pharmacists were scarce, and Three Stars Pharmacists were hardly more common. The Zi Family also had another four Three Stars Pharmacists, which was the height of luxury in Diamond City, but still, it was a case of too many monks and not enough porridge!

For the Zi Family, One Star Pharmacists could be neglected, but they were desperately seeking Two Stars Pharmacists, while Three Stars Pharmacists were as hard to find as a lantern in daylight!

Upon discovering that a Three Stars Pharmacist had emerged in Wild Horse City, he was initially skeptical—how could such a figure surface in Xihai City? But how could the Pharmacists Association make a blunder about this? If it was a sham, wouldn’t that be a laughing stock for the entire world?

The Pharmacists Association couldn’t afford to lose such face!

Zi Yingming quickly categorized Zhou Heng as a genius pharmacist. Constraint by the Starwind Trial, he couldn’t rush to recruit Zhou Heng at once, but he believed that if he put forth a suitable offer, Zhou Heng would surely not refuse an invitation from a Sunshine Emperor’s family.

Besides, pharmacists were quite peculiar, with ninety percent showing no interest in Immortal Stones or beauty, obsessing solely over Alchemy, all for the sake of enhancing their craft. The Zi Family had a Four Stars Pharmacist—a natural magnet, a living advertisement for One, Two, and Three Stars Pharmacists!

He was confident that even if he approached Zhou Heng later, he would surely persuade this new Three Stars Pharmacist to join his ranks.

Unexpectedly, he met Zhou Heng during the Starwind Trial!

But clearly a Three Stars Pharmacist, how did he possess such formidable battle power?

One must understand that human energy is limited; the Martial Path and Alchemy Dao cannot coexist— the further one progresses, the more one must not be distracted! To dual cultivate in martial arts and alchemy, what kind of monstrous genius would that require?

At least in Zi Yingming’s impression, no one fit that mold!

Moreover, in the eyes of the great houses, while they outwardly revered pharmacists, deep down they didn’t really respect them.

After all, the Immortal Realm was a world where power reigned supreme—being powerful was the true path! Pharmacists indeed held sway, but as long as I have enough strength, I would possess sufficient Immortal Stones to buy the pills you refine, or even take them by force, or more so, directly capture and force you to engage in Alchemy!

Zi Yingming admired Zhou Heng’s power, but this made him all the more baffled. If Zhou Heng could have focused the energy dispersed in Alchemy solely on the Martial Path, might not his achievements have been even greater?

Zhou Heng smiled faintly. He couldn’t possibly guess from the other person’s fleeting expression that this individual had already considered so many thoughts in an instant, and said, "That truly is somewhat coincidental!"

Zi Yingming had been certain he could pull Zhou Heng into his own camp, but seeing Zhou Heng’s strength was so formidable, he began to hesitate.

Because to cultivate such an exceptionally talented prodigy, the family behind him must be powerful, perhaps even stronger than the Zi Family! Would he not be asking for trouble in trying to recruit Zhou Heng? Hmm, better to wait and gather more information about Zhou Heng’s background before proceeding.

Even if he could not recruit him, they could still become friends, and if friendship was not possible, it was best to not become enemies!

"Brother Zhou, the Guardian Beast of the first gorge has been eliminated; it’s certain at least one force has entered the second gorge!" Zi Yingming said with a serious look, devoid of any arrogance, his eyes flickering with an intelligent gleam, "To kill a beast of Peak Moonlight Emperor level, that person, or rather that force, is very strong. And to be able to kill a Peak Moonlight Emperor level beast in such a short time... at least I can’t do it!"

Zhou Heng actually felt a bit more favorably towards him. It took courage to admit one’s inferiority! Because everyone who entered here could be considered a ’young prodigy,’ admitting one is unmatched among peers was a sign of magnanimity and composure.

"I can’t do it either!" Zhou Heng also shook his head. He could actually do it if he unleashed the Sky-soaring Nine Forms, or perhaps the Fire Divine Furnace, but those were his trump cards. And this was just the first challenge; who would reveal their trump cards in the first challenge?

Therefore, Zhou Heng’s admission that he couldn’t do it was not hiding his clumsiness nor was it modesty, but rather the truth.

"Brother Zhou, how about we join forces?" Zi Yingming offered with a toothy smile.

The other person’s strength was not inferior to his own, and it was certain he was definitely from a high-tier Immortal City’s prominent family, with Secret Treasures on him! Cooperation would surely be mutually beneficial!

"How shall we divide the Treasures?" Zhou Heng had not yet agreed, but the Black Donkey had already jumped out to ask. It cared most about Treasures; it lived for Treasures and would die for Treasures.

"After passing through the Nine Gorges, then we decide the outcome in a duel, how about that?" Zi Yingming looked at Zhou Heng, his eyes burning with a fervent battle intent.

"Good!" Zhou Heng became very excited; the two had only probed each other just now, and neither had done their utmost. But he believed Zi Yingming was definitely a formidable rival, igniting his desire for a major battle.

Zi Yingming nodded and said, "Brother Zhou, you’ve already obtained an Order, so we can set off now!"

"An Order can let so many people through?" Zhou Heng was curious. It was his first time ascending the sedan chair, having never entered the Starwind Space before.

"Each Order can make the Restriction disappear for about ten seconds, enough time for many people to pass!" Yang Lanxin added.

So that’s how it was.

"However, one Order can only interrupt a Restriction once. Though the Order won’t disappear, the next Restriction will require a second Order!" Zi Yingming explained.

"Let’s enter the second gorge first and then search for Orders there, where there will be fewer people looking for them!"

"Haha, indeed so!"

The group returned to the end of the first gorge, and Zhou Heng pressed forward with the Order. A flash of Golden Light sparked, the air trembled, and it seemed as if nothing had happened.

"Go!" Zi Yingming and Yang Lanxin both called out softly at the same time, darting forwards, whoosh whoosh, the invisible Restriction that originally blocked the way had already disappeared.

The group hurriedly passed through as the Order could only interrupt the Restriction for ten seconds, and soon the Restriction here would be restored.

"Roar—" A fierce howl sounded, and a terrifying force fluctuation surged from afar, sending sand and stones flying before crushing them to dust.

Zi Yingming uttered a low sound and took a step forward, pushing out with a palm. A purple-green light burst forth from his palm and formed a circular barrier in front of everyone.

Boom!

The blast of Vigorous Power swept over, slipping past the top, bottom, left, and right of the purple-green barrier, unable to affect those within at all.

"The Guardian Beast of the second gorge is also dead!" Zi Yingming retracted his hand and said in a heavy tone; his face was very somber.

That fluctuation from earlier was the final blow of the battle, and with Zi Yingming’s and Zhou Heng’s sensitive Divine Sense, they could still perceive the Annihilation of a powerful Spiritual Sense. Combined with the mournful beast howl, it was certain the Guardian Beast had fallen.

"Not just one person!" Zhou Heng closed his eyes to sense carefully; within that shockwave, there were at least five different forces. Eliminating one that belonged to the Guardian Beast, that meant there were at least four people teaming up for the kill.

"Zhu Xiaoran from Yin Cloudy City, Sun Yuchuan from Drinking Horse City, Zhang Yuting from Pine Field City... and two forces I cannot recognize!" Zi Yingming identified some after sensing for a while.

"Are these all young prodigies from your Immortal City?" Zhou Heng chuckled. The strength of his rivals did not deter him; it only made his fighting spirit soar even higher.

"Correct, they are all prodigies from Xiwu City!" Zi Yingming nodded.

Although it was not a big secret that high-tier Immortal Cities sent their people to participate in low-tier Immortal Cities’ Starwind Trials, it still broke certain taboos. For Zi Yingming to openly admit it in the presence of Zhou Heng indeed showed considerable sincerity.

Of course, the family had long devised countermeasures, so even if this matter was exposed, they had ways to remedy it. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets on Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)